Gem of an encounter at the dog park...

[CaliTerp07]

I never let my dogs run with dogs I don't know, I just fail to see any reason to do so.

Reason: There are no other large, fenced areas where your dog can run around and blow off energy, because you live in an urban environment where the majority of dogs are in apartments or town homes.

28347239874 miles of walks a day and 3298743874 hours of training, and my dog will be jumping all over the place. An hour of solid running and jumping and playing with other dogs, and she'll (mostly) settle down for the evening.

I know my dog, I keep a vigilant eye on other people/dogs, and the core group of dog owners who are at the park every day are pretty dog savvy and do a good job maintaining order. On rare occasion, I'll see a dog that makes me slightly nervous, and at that point I'll leash up Lucy and we'll go. I've had her 2 1/2 years, and never had an incident.

 

[smkie]

Lucy needs to come play with Victor and Pepper at our park or in the woods. They would have a good time and wear her out!

WE need dog parks, in the beginning if I hadnt' been able to let Victor and Pepper free their zoomie spirit I don't think I would have been able to reach either one.

WE do exactly what Caliterp does. Watch, have fun and if there is a problem leash and go home.

 

[smeagle]

Reason: There are no other large, fenced areas where your dog can run around and blow off energy, because you live in an urban environment where the majority of dogs are in apartments or town homes.

28347239874 miles of walks a day and 3298743874 hours of training, and my dog will be jumping all over the place. An hour of solid running and jumping and playing with other dogs, and she'll (mostly) settle down for the evening.

I know my dog, I keep a vigilant eye on other people/dogs, and the core group of dog owners who are at the park every day are pretty dog savvy and do a good job maintaining order. On rare occasion, I'll see a dog that makes me slightly nervous, and at that point I'll leash up Lucy and we'll go. I've had her 2 1/2 years, and never had an incident.

I can understand how people don't see any problem or danger with dog parks if they've never had any negative incidents.

I think a large part of the reason why I avoid them here is due to how TINY they are. I also find that in fenced off leash areas, you are more likely to run into owners whose dogs are poorly trained.

I never take my dogs to dog parks - ever - I have two active breeds and am yet to struggle to find ways to get them exercised. IMO there are 101 ways to exercise your dog and going to a dog park is just one of them. My youngest dog has very little interest in playing with other dogs, so I have to find other ways to exercise her anyway.

If I want to let her have an off leash run, I can take her to the field where our obedience club runs and let her off there. That's not very often though... I find a training session will tire her out just as much as a walk or run off leash.

After the experiences I've had I will just never see how letting my dog run off leash with strange dogs will ever be worth it.

 

[Linds]

I think a large part of the reason why I avoid them here is due to how TINY they are. I also find that in fenced off leash areas, you are more likely to run into owners whose dogs are poorly trained.

Just remember that's your dog parks, not everyone's. Heck, mine aren't even fenced. I've had wonderful and horrible experiences there but the good and quality of life my dogs gain from it outweigh the bad

It's all situation, location and dog dependent. I can exercise my dogs without one but I choose to add it into the rotation because they love it and so do I. It's getting out and hiking around with my dog that I love. I can only do that in one other place and I'm not doing it legally.

If I didn't go to my dog park my dogs would rarely if ever get to swim which is a wonderful exercise I personally would hate to loose out on. And a life saver in the summer on the days it's too hot for them to do much else.

I can bike, I can train, I can flirtpole, take them interesting places etc. and I do all that but they enjoy that dog park more than all of that. And nothing, I repeat NOTHING tires Traveler out more than a few hours of playing chase with other dogs. A hard core training session at my club when I'm there for two hours and have a game of tug training a half an hour after is about the only time training ever get's Traveler to the point I would say he was "tired" mentally and that's not physical because he still wants to romp around after

So pretty much what I'm saying is you may not need, want or desire to use a dog park but your situation, your dogs and your dog park is not the same same everywhere or for everyone

 

[smeagle]

Just remember that's your dog parks, not everyone's. Heck, mine aren't even fenced. I've had wonderful and horrible experiences there but the good and quality of life my dogs gain from it outweigh the bad

It's all situation, location and dog dependent. I can exercise my dogs without one but I choose to add it into the rotation because they love it and so do I. It's getting out and hiking around with my dog that I love. I can only do that in one other place and I'm not doing it legally.

If I didn't go to my dog park my dogs would rarely if ever get to swim which is a wonderful exercise I personally would hate to loose out on. And a life saver in the summer on the days it's too hot for them to do much else.

I can bike, I can train, I can flirtpole, take them interesting places etc. and I do all that but they enjoy that dog park more than all of that. And nothing, I repeat NOTHING tires Traveler out more than a few hours of playing chase with other dogs. A hard core training session at my club when I'm there for two hours and have a game of tug training a half an hour after is about the only time training ever get's Traveler to the point I would say he was "tired" mentally and that's not physical because he still wants to romp around after

So pretty much what I'm saying is you may not need, want or desire to use a dog park but your situation, your dogs and your dog park is not the same same everywhere or for everyone

Yes, I'm aware of that, which is why I said it's just IMO and largely due to how the dog parks here are designed. I'm not by any means saying everyone should stop using them, I'm just saying I don't see the benefit in our situation. If I want to run my dogs off leash I can do so without going to a busy dog park.

At the end of the day, I'll never be convinced there is any benefit to running my dogs with a group of dogs I don't know. Even when we go to the dog beach, or I have them off leash in a big open field (not fenced) I will call my dogs to me if I see a strange dog approaching. They play with dogs I know who are owned by people I trust and that's it.

 

[smkie]

I will not go to a tiny dog park. I drive about an hour to reach ours. It is 55 acres with a lake. We can't go often, not like we use to where we went once a week, but once a month, it is more than worth the time and expense. IT is the happiest I see my dogs and all though we have seen some rude people and some rude dogs, it is big enough to get away to another area.

Other than that it is trying to find a section of woods locally. Last time we went I ran into two deer hunters. A real drag since I had a brown leather coat on, and had to leash the dogs and tell Hyia to make a joyous noise until we are out of here. It isn't a legal hunting location anymore than it is an off leash area. So we are back to looking for a new place. There is suppose to be an unofficial off leash place near the river but I can't use that because Victor sees a body of water he is in it, He is a pointer but a lab at heart. There is still the valley here but the hunters (who aren't suppose to hunt there either) are field dressing their deer and leaving the rot behind. Last time we went there it took two soapings to get the stink of Vic.

I could never walk my dogs enough to equal what they need. Victor loves to run for the pure pleasure of doing so and it makes my heart sing to see him. So I will have to just keep looking until I find a safer location.

Both of mine are great socially and know how to handle themselves. WE have been at the park when there were at least 50 dogs on the beach without a problem.THe one time Vic did have an issue he just swam out until the dog couldn't follow him anymore and came back on the other side of the fence and sat until the "problem" went away. He is super smart.

 

[JacksonsMom]

Reason: There are no other large, fenced areas where your dog can run around and blow off energy, because you live in an urban environment where the majority of dogs are in apartments or town homes.

28347239874 miles of walks a day and 3298743874 hours of training, and my dog will be jumping all over the place. An hour of solid running and jumping and playing with other dogs, and she'll (mostly) settle down for the evening.

I know my dog, I keep a vigilant eye on other people/dogs, and the core group of dog owners who are at the park every day are pretty dog savvy and do a good job maintaining order. On rare occasion, I'll see a dog that makes me slightly nervous, and at that point I'll leash up Lucy and we'll go. I've had her 2 1/2 years, and never had an incident.

Totally this ^^.

I have no fence. I have no other dogs. Jackson is very much a dog who NEEDS other canines at LEAST a few times a week, or he will drive me nuts. He's a doggy dog, I guess, who really thrives on playing with other canines. I do take him to my dads house with their other dogs but they don't always wanna play the way he wants to.

I can take him on a 2hr walk and yes, it will tire him out, but not nearly as long as a 2hr romp in the dog park will, chasing other dogs at full speed, wrestling, etc. Plus, like you said, he simply really enjoys it. I would never want to take that privilege away from him, or myself, considering I've met some good friends there and know most of the dogs that are there.

Sure, there is a risk to me taking him to a dog park. But there is also a risk to me walking him in a neighborhood, I've heard plenty of stories about dogs being attacked on leash on a walk. There is also a risk that his collar could get hung up on something, or a risk that he could get loose withOUT a collar, or that he could get into a fight with my dads dogs and get hurt, there's sooo many risks to life in general, that I'm not going to take away going to a dog park where we have 99.99% of good times there. It's very simple for me to see if he is uncomfortable, or if I am uncomfortable with the way a dog is behaving, or if it's too crowded for my liking, I just leave.

Bottom line is know your own dogs, understand basic doggy language, know your dog parks (some are obviously going to be better than others) and base your decision on those factors. I just personally don't see how this risk is much greater, or any greater at all, than alot of the other things we do with our dogs.

 

[smeagle]

I just personally don't see how this risk is much greater, or any greater at all, than alot of the other things we do with our dogs.

In the case of my local dog parks, you have in busy times 20-30 strange dogs crammed into a very small space (think a fenced area not much bigger than a kids playground area).

I do dog sports with my youngest dog but nothing we do even remotely compares to the risk of letting such a large group of unknown dogs run together, highly aroused, in a small area. When I used to take my older dog to the dog park we saw and incident almost every day.

Just getting in the gate can be dangerous - I've seen a 'pack' of six dogs form when a new dog enters the gate, the 'pack' crowds around the new comer until it snaps to say 'get me outta here!' and then ALL six dogs went for the new comer. Scary bloody stuff.

I've run my dog in a large group of dogs I know, and no incidents occurred at all. We're all pretty dog savvy and understand how to read not only our own dogs, but others as well. In my experience the average dog owner doesn't have that skill.


ETA: Maybe it's easier for me because I don't have a dog that is totally dependent on needing to run and play with other dogs in order to be happy/tired etc. My youngest dog has always been very well socialised, but she doesn't see other dogs as super exciting or valuable. Though I did intentionally raise and train her to be that way too. She'd always choose playing and training with me over playing with other dogs.

 

[Brattina88]

smeagle... your dog parks do sound very crowded. I personally would never take my dog to one like that, small and crowded.
The dog park I've taken Maddie to is pretty small, but I've only gone in when there was 2-5 dogs there. I went one time where it looked like there was 20+ dogs there, so I just kept on driving!

I've been to an amazing dog park in MI that was really big, and the 3rd side was a rivier, and Maddie loves to swim. I wish I lived closer to that one! There were probably around 20 dogs in that one, but it was so spread out it wasn't an issue... and everyone got along great.
You just have to judge your situation, your dog, and the behavior of all the dogs around before deciding whether its a good idea or not. There is nothing wrong with leaving if you're uncomfortable. You just have to use your best judgement

And to the OP, that really sucks that you had to run into that. What a sad representation of the breed Just know that they're not all like that!!

 

[ihartgonzo]

My dogs have been attacked more times while walking them ON-LEASH in my quiet neighborhood than they have been at the dog park... so should I cease walking them, too? Should I drive to a remote location devoid of human or animal life to walk them?

The dog park itself does matter. There are a couple of dog parks that I will not go to in this area. One is in a very low class neighborhood and is very large, but usually consists of about 50% Pit Bulls, and it's the only dog park that I really ever see fights break out. One is way too small to even be worth it. But the couple that we go to are several acres and very quiet, with nice people and friendly dogs. If you saw the dog parks in San Francisco, your mind would be changed! Some of those are hundreds of acres. You could go all day without seeing another dog if you wanted to, and the dogs can swim in the bay and run on amazing trails.

And, I would venture to say that Fozzie is so stable, he could not be attacked. He plays with my friend's very dog aggressive Pit Bull often. That doesn't mean I'm not going to tell any dog that messes with him to **** off... but to me, if your dog is truly stable and well socialized, they will not get into a fight period. Bites happen for a reason; unless the biting dog is blindly, super dog aggressive.

 

[Zoom]

So don't take your dog to the park during the busy times. Simple as that. I avoid the parks at busy times, because I have run into too many idiots. However, I've also run into a lot of fabulous people. I wouldn't even know about Chazhound if I hadn't been going to the dog park and met Smkie.

Some dogs just aren't cut out for the park, some parks aren't cut out to be off-leash parks. It's up to YOU to be smart about where and when you take your dog and don't be one of those people who want to take away the option for everyone else because you've had bad experiences.

 

[Fran101]

So don't take your dog to the park during the busy times. Simple as that. I avoid the parks at busy times, because I have run into too many idiots. However, I've also run into a lot of fabulous people. I wouldn't even know about Chazhound if I hadn't been going to the dog park and met Smkie.

Some dogs just aren't cut out for the park, some parks aren't cut out to be off-leash parks. It's up to YOU to be smart about where and when you take your dog and don't be one of those people who want to take away the option for everyone else because you've had bad experiences.

this.

Nobody is forced to go to dog parks. So why would they kill the fun for everyone else?

I love dog parks. I love taking my dogs there and will continue to do so. People should just be smart about their OWN dogs, what time they go, and decide if the risk is worth it.

Personally, I think the risk is worth the fun.ALL aspects of fun things involve some risk.

Dog park? your dog could get attacked
Beach? Shark, drowning
Off leash? Run into the road
Agility? Damage joints

Anytime you take your dog outside a meteor could fly towards the earth and kill both of you!!

lol just know your dog. know the risks. and use common sense.

 

[Dekka]

While I agree Fran. Agility is going to be far more under your control than other people's dogs. Same with drowning etc. I think some people's biggest issue with dog parks is the risk posed by trusting other people to know THEIR dogs.

I wouldn't take any of my JRTs to a dog park (Kaiden would likely be a good candidate but being intact I just wouldn't risk it) I would take Dash and Bounce as not only are they not likely going to start anything, they could likely outrun any aggressive dog.

 

[Zoom]

The two times Sawyer has been attacked has been when we were at agility and it was the same dog both times. Should no one go to agility because of my experience?

 

[smkie]

I love that my dogs have park friends. They run into each other, that have met and played with before it is like geez I don't know how to put it in words. I loved the last time Sawyer and Victor went. They ran to this area, and to that area, with joyful free abandon. It is their disneyland and they are free to come and go and play without being directed by me. I am there to oversee that no one is getting carried away, or too far, or that they come out and dry their feet so they don't get skinned pads, but the rest is their time and it shows. I know of nothing I could do that would make my dogs happier than to go there.

AGility would not be the same.

Knock on wood, 3 dogs, 15 years, use to go once a week, now once a month, we have never had a crisis. When we go, we spend about 3 hours, sometimes longer.
Some of my most favorite memories, a dear friend, some of my most favorite photographs all came from the there. If i had a vacation I could take, it would be to go to some of the nicest dog parks, like MhMr's. Would love to take a trip like 7 days for 7 dogs.

I will not go to a couple acre park. but it is big, if it has a good water source, I would rather go there than just about anywhere. I would really like to take my dogs to a dog beach!!!

 

[smeagle]

My dogs have been attacked more times while walking them ON-LEASH in my quiet neighborhood than they have been at the dog park... so should I cease walking them, too? Should I drive to a remote location devoid of human or animal life to walk them?

Hey, I was just sharing my experience and explaining why I don't like dog parks and why I won't use them. Like I said earlier, if you've never had a negative experience at a dog park or the good experiences out weigh the bad naturally you won't have a big problem with using them.

I have a friend whose dog was attacked and killed in one of our local dog parks, you can bet for sure she'll never take any dog she owns back to them. It comes down to the experiences you've had.

but to me, if your dog is truly stable and well socialized, they will not get into a fight period. Bites happen for a reason; unless the biting dog is blindly, super dog aggressive.

I strongly disagree. The one time I've had my dog attacked outside of a dog park was at our local obedience club (yes - there is risk in everything we do, though the risk of taking my dogs to obedience or agility far out weight the risk at the local dog park) who broke off it's collar, ran straight up to my dog who hadn't even noticed it, who was standing their scenting minding her own business, grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the ground and shook her. My dog hadn't even noticed this dog. She was up until that pointly completely bomb proof around other dogs and VERY well socialised. It took two people to pull this dog off mine, so no, I can't agree that being well socialised and stable around other dogs is enough to prevent your dog from being attacked.

Nobody is forced to go to dog parks. So why would they kill the fun for everyone else?

I'm not telling everyone else not to use dog parks, I'm simply giving my opinion that the risk in my eyes is not worth it for my dogs. You couldn't pay me to take my dogs to our local dog parks. If you have amazing dog parks in your area where they are vast areas where all the owners are responsible, can read dog body language well, never bring dogs with behaviorial problems to the park and always have dogs that are under effective control that's great. Such dog parks do not exist where I live and therefore, I won't ever use them.

 

[Dekka]

The two times Sawyer has been attacked has been when we were at agility and it was the same dog both times. Should no one go to agility because of my experience?

If this happened at a competition I hope those dogs were suspended! That is NOT normal. (far less normal than at dog parks) IF it was at a class that is also HIGHLY unusual at a decent training place, let alone twice.

I don't think anyone is saying you should go. My point was you have more control over the joint risks etc doing agility (ie train your dog properly, use their hind end, condition them etc) than controlling what other people do with their dogs.

ETA I think this was directed at me. I said I would take the whippets to a dog park. I wouldn't take the JRTs as they would start crap and or join in. On the otherhand if I was going to an agility place where my dog kept getting attacked I wouldn't go back to where that dog was, and not go back at all if nothing was done to ensure that didn't happen again.

 

[Dekka]

I love that my dogs have park friends. They run into each other, that have met and played with before it is like geez I don't know how to put it in words. I loved the last time Sawyer and Victor went. They ran to this area, and to that area, with joyful free abandon. It is their disneyland and they are free to come and go and play without being directed by me. I am there to oversee that no one is getting carried away, or too far, or that they come out and dry their feet so they don't get skinned pads, but the rest is their time and it shows. I know of nothing I could do that would make my dogs happier than to go there.

AGility would not be the same.

Knock on wood, 3 dogs, 15 years, use to go once a week, now once a month, we have never had a crisis. When we go, we spend about 3 hours, sometimes longer.
Some of my most favorite memories, a dear friend, some of my most favorite photographs all came from the there. If i had a vacation I could take, it would be to go to some of the nicest dog parks, like MhMr's. Would love to take a trip like 7 days for 7 dogs.

I will not go to a couple acre park. but it is big, if it has a good water source, I would rather go there than just about anywhere. I would really like to take my dogs to a dog beach!!!

I am sorry but I am bit lost here. What does agility have to do with this? I think it was brought up as a 'comparable' danger. I don't think anyone said dogs should not have free time and only play with their human in a structured manner. LOL if your point is something else (I could be a bit slow.. studying and working on an assignment and am in 'chem' mode) please explain cause I am lost lol.

 

[smkie]

Because it is down time, their time, to do as they please without being directed by people. My dogs would love a retrieving event too, but that would be us working as a team, not them able to do as they please.

They know I am there to call them out or tell them it's over and time to go, but the rest is their decisions to engage or run or whatever. I think that is part of the enjoyment for them.

I dont' know how else to describe it.

 

[Dekka]

Oh ok.. so what does that have to do with dog parks? ack sorry I am probably being dumb... I just don't get the connection.

I re read the last few pages and I don't see anyone saying that you should do agility instead of going to a dog park.